The Countdown is On.doc

Six more nights left in Heronbank before the move to Leamington. I've said it before, but I'm really looking forward to the flat and living with Tory and Zoey. The accommodation here is alright, but dorm living just isn't feasible after six months in a swanky Amsterdam pad.

Thankfully, the library work has been broken up by some activities with friends. The dinner on Friday evening was wonderful. Zoey and Jocelyn cooked up some fantastic dishes (salad, rice, chicken, and mushrooms) and we sipped on some red wine. It was nice to catch up with their summer pursuits and make plans for the upcoming semester. Jocelyn, Zhenya, and Hetta have secured a flat of their own in the city so its nice to know the whole group will all be around come September. We plan to continue group cooking/dinners into the semester. I'm sure it'll be easy with all of us here - there should be about fifteen MAIPRs from our year and twelve or so from the new pool of arrivals.

On Saturday, Tory arrived back from a week long intensive workshop at RADA in London. There she did a whole bunch of interesting acting exercises. I'm jealous! It has now been over a year since I've been on stage - I miss it terribly. Tory said the week reminded her how great theatre can be; a reminder I understand after two years of MA study. Unfortunately, approaching everything from a theoretical perspective can sometimes lead you to have distaste for everything you're studying. The theoretical can also sometimes smack of pretentiousness so it's good to get into something practical. Maybe they'll be an opportunity for some type of creative outlet this fall...here is hoping. If not, a job might be in order. I'm thinking of maybe looking into something for ten hours a week or so just to have some pocket change. Anyways, I helped Tory move her suitcases back downstairs and we shared a refreshing drink outside watching the geese in the pond.

That evening I decided to follow Mom's prescription by heading off campus for a night of revelry. It proved to be exactly what the nurse ordered. I jumped on the bus and joined Bec in Leamington. Her housemates were working so instead of having a crazy night out, we shared a bottle of wine at her place and chatted for the evening. It was chill, low-key, and the perfect change of pace after a few days in the library. I managed to catch the last bus back to campus that evening. Sunday was spent lazing around. I also managed to complete a report for IGLYO about the intergenerational dialogue that happened at the conference in July. Anything to postpone jumping back into the thesis...

Monday and Tuesday were spent at the library again with minor success. Just lots of reading going on at this point, but it's essential before trying to put the words down. My plan is to get to a secure point before the move and take three or four days off to settle in and get setup. Last night I visited with my Canadian friend at Warwick Andrea who I happened to see on the bus from campus to Leam. She's jumping into a law degree in Birmingham in September (straight after an MA at Warwick) so it'll be good to have her in the area still. I was on my way to Bec's again for some Tuesday night mischief (FYI, I was curious about the definition of mischief so I looked it up: conduct or activity that playfully causes petty annoyance). Our conduct was neither petty, nor did it cause annoyance, but it was playful. I joined Bec and her housemate Nick for some drinks at their place before hitting the town. Tuesday is actually a really big night in Leam and a lot of bars have drink specials. Their other housemate Matt joined us after work and we proceeded to hit the town. We ended up at Koko's which offered 1 pound vodka-redbulls (the devil's brew!) and had a bit of a dance. It joined the two previous nights as really great times in Leam - no disappointments yet! After the bar we went back to the flat and watched an episode of Seinfeld, which if you know me well you know it's my favourite TV show. I hadn't seen an episode in nearly a year so it was a welcome treat. The work week continues, but the countdown is indeed on.

Congrats to Emily on her one year anniversary in Europe! I'll see you at that milestone in three weeks.

Doc's Prescription of the Day: I think Twitter is unhealthy. Avoid tweets at all costs; we're connected enough as it is.